Antoine Griezmann warns Atletico Madrid not to underestimate Leicester in Champions League clash and says they are ‘just like us’

The bookies have Leicester as rank outsiders to win the Champions League - but Atletico's top marksman is not taking them lightly

By Graeme Bryce

9th April 2017, 10:30 pm

Updated: 9th April 2017, 10:28 pm

ANTOINE GRIEZMANN has paid Craig Shakespeare’s Leicester City a shock compliment – by claiming they remind him of Atletico Madrid.

The £85million striker, rated the hottest hit-man in Europe, warned Atletico fans against complacency ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions’ League quarter-final and insisted: “Leicester are just like us.”

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Antoine Griezmann has said it's crazy to write off Leicester ahead of his Atletico Madrid side's clash against the Foxes

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But the 26-year-old striker says he has much more respect for Leicester than the bookies, who make Craig Shakespeare’s Foxes 33/1 rank outsiders for the trophy.

Griezmann told SunSport: “People say we got the quarter-final draw everyone wanted – I disagree. We never wanted any team more than another. We never thought this tie would be easy.

“We know how strong Leicester are. They are a bit like us in the way they play. They have a similar spirit to us and they are going to be difficult opponents, for sure.”

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Antoine Griezmann has compared Leicester to his own side Atletico Madrid ahead of the two meeting

Griezmann struck his 15th La Liga goal of the season to take his overall tally to 23 goals for the season.

Ominously for Leicester, he says Atletico are flying high after battling back from the dead to earn a crucial point against their historic rivals in their own Bernabeu backyard on Saturday.

“We finished the game better than Madrid,” he said. “Hopefully we will be in the same good shape against Leicester because this game is so important.”

His manager, Diego Simeone hailed his French hitman and claimed his skills are sublime, yet they still do not outweigh his fantastic workrate.

Spanish papers claimed Griezmann acted as Atletico’s fifth midfielder and Simeone said he is no longer the winger most people thought he had signed from Real Sociedad two and a half seasons ago.

Reuters

Craig Shakespeare has turned Leicester's season around after they became one of the favourites for relegation

“Words aren't enough to describe a player that has so much desire on top of what he has technically and how he finishes,” he said.
"Antoine is a player who runs, works hard, plays in and outside the area and runs in behind. All these things excite me on top of the talent he has. When such a talented player works so hard, it is doubly nice to see.
"Lots of people argued with me when he arrived and I put him through the middle and not on the wing. But he times his runs, he can turn with his back to goal and is good in the air.

"He struggled for his first four months, but I am happy for what is happening to him now.”
Simeone also made it clear the respect he has for Leicester and said: “They are a team capable of winning the English league and they have overcome the difficulties they had earlier.
"For many people we are now facing a different team to the one we got in the draw, but we always knew it was going to be a difficult, hard-fought game against a team that in many aspects is similar to ourselves."